On Women Wearing Tallit and T'fillin
Are women allowed?

by Rabbi Dr Raymond Apple

Question:
Are women allowed to wear tallit and t'fillin?

Answer:
There is a general principle that women are exempt from positive commandments ("thou shalts") that have to be fulfilled at a particular time. However, there are exceptions to this rule. Time-bound positive commandments that are intrinsically linked to negative commands, such as Kiddush on Shabbat, which is linked to the prohibition of work on Shabbat, are obligatory on women. Time-bound positive commands that celebrate events in which the whole community was involved, such as hearing the Megillah on Purim, are likewise obligatory on women. There are also commands which women have chosen to observe out of piety, such as hearing the shofar.

However, the general principle still applies in relation to tallit and t'fillin. Since these mitzvot involve something that is worn, authorities tend to apply to them the rule in the Torah that men and women should not wear clothing that is specific to the other (Deuteronomy 22:5).

Rabbi Moshe Feinstein allows women to have tzitzit on any four-cornered garment, provided they do so out of genuine piety and not in order to make a statement. To avoid the problem of women wearing a men's garment, Rabbi Feinstein speaks of women not putting tzitzit on exactly the same type of garment as that which men wear.

In relation to t'fillin, Rabbi Feinstein sees no grounds for permitting them to women, because they go directly on the body and there is a problem of bodily cleanliness at certain times. Because men, too, cannot guarantee bodily cleanliness, the usual practice is for them to keep the t'fillin on for a limited time in the morning, when one is praying, and not all day.

Rabbi Dr Raymond Apple AO RFD is Emeritus Rabbi of the Great Synagogue, Sydney. He is now retired and lives in Jerusalem, where he spends his time writing, delivering shiurim, and editing books for Targum Press. He also writes articles for various publications, including Hamodia.